


The Cost of a Cause

by stayingwhelmed



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Family, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Matt-Centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-16 23:42:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12352947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stayingwhelmed/pseuds/stayingwhelmed
Summary: Matt shook his head. “Look at us.” Pidge turned to him, melancholy morphing into confusion at the grin spreading across his face. “Two of the biggest nerds from Earth, defending the universe.” Pidge returned his smile, and let out a soft giggle. Matt’s heart felt full enough to burst. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed his little sister’s laugh.(Pidge and Matt's reunion and other unseen moments, told from Matt's POV)





	The Cost of a Cause

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Voltron fic and I’m not active in the fandom, so apologies in advance for any inconsistencies with canon. I did some research on Pidge’s history, but that’s about it. Honestly, I don’t remember much about the plot from the first few seasons, but I’m a sucker for sibling relationships and I love Pidge sooo I just had to write this after seeing Reunion.

 

A buzzing jolted Matt out of his much-needed nap. The silent alarm had been triggered. Bolting upright, his eyes scanned the surveillance monitor by his makeshift bed. _An intruder_. Ah, was it too much to ask for to get a few hours’ break? He grabbed his staff, fastened on his mask, and ran with a swiftness his friends had trained into him towards the command room.

The intruder had his back turned and was examining Matt’s main monitor. Gritting his teeth, Matt raised his staff and swung. The intruder ducked, and the battle began. He was a good fighter; Matt would give him that. They attacked each other with practiced intensity and Matt felt himself settling into the eerie calm of a fight. He was alert of the intruder’s every movement to predict what his next one would be—fighting was all about recognizing patterns and… he recognized this intruder’s. Eyes narrowing, Matt realized he was somehow _familiar_ with the intruder’s build, his mannerisms. But it didn’t matter. He shook himself and readied for another blow and—

“What have you done with my brother?”

The face glaring back at him through that visor, that _voice..._ Matt’s grip slackened on his staff, and the intruder took that opportunity to strike with his—her—weapon. Matt grunted as he was knocked backwards, the mask flying off his face. He got to his knees, hearing the buzz of the intruder’s weapon. He should’ve been moving, but his limbs seemed to be locked. He raised and turned his head to face his attacker. She stopped. Her weapon was inches from his neck; the ferocity melted from her face instantly. Matt swallowed. It was a face he had given up hope on seeing again outside of his dreams.

“Pidge?” It couldn’t be. It was impossible. He must’ve been hallucinating.

“Matt?” The voice was small and broken, but it instantly warmed Matt to his core. It sounded like _home_.

Thoughts reeling, muscles numb, Matt had his sister clutched in his embrace before he could process it. He choked on a sob, tears streaming down his face and not caring one bit.

He had so many questions. He was sure Pidge did, too. But just as his mind was about to wrap around the fact that his sister was a _fucking paladin of Voltron_ , a sinister voice interrupted. Matt and Pidge dropped into fighting stances in unison, facing the new intruder, apparently here to collect a bounty on them both. Because of course the universe was allergic to giving Matt a break.

“Stand back, Pidge.” The words were out of his mouth before he registered that his sister had told him to do the same. They exchanged a look of surprise mingled with pride. Pidge grinned.

“Let’s show this guy what the Holts are made of!”

Matt nodded. Well, then. Together.

 

\---

 

“So, tell me more. How the heck did you find me?”

Pidge stared ahead, busy piloting the Green Lion. _Piloting the Green Lion_. His sister was so _cool_ , agh. She and the Lion moved as one seamlessly, Pidge’s fingers flying over the controls with practiced ease and expertise. It was like watching her back when she used to hack into security systems and secure databases for fun. But about a million times more surreal.

“I never stopped looking. That story is just as long as the one about me becoming a paladin of Voltron,” she said, glancing over at him with a halfhearted smirk. She dropped it, turning back around. “Well, the latest lead led me to your friend. Te-osh. She… she gave me her transponder to track you, because, well, she—” Matt inhaled sharply as his sister seemed to fold in on herself. He knew what was coming. “She gave her life to the rebel cause, Matt. I’m—I’m so, so sorry.” Pidge’s voice broke, and Matt let out a long, shuddering breath, his eyes stinging. He had a feeling this hadn’t been Pidge’s only time witnessing a death firsthand.

“She died as she would have wanted to. Te-osh was a hero,” he murmured, grief settling like a familiar deadweight in his chest. He’d lost so many friends fighting the Galra. He’d seen so much. He knew that his sister had, too. And she was only _fifteen_.

Pidge took a deep breath. “Yeah, she was.” She cleared her throat. “So I used the transponder to follow your code, and it led me to—it led me to the grave marker you’d left.” Pidge visibly swallowed. The Green Lion hummed, as if in distress. “I thought you were—Matt, I thought—”

“Katie,” Matt choked out, rising out of his seat. She turned to him, eyes welling up. He knelt and wrapped his arms around her, tears prickling hot in his own eyes. She’d changed—she’d grown—so much. They both had. The Green Lion was still, hovering in space, and it felt like it was just the two of them in the entire universe. Brother and sister, reunited under impossible circumstances.

Pidge was trying to collect herself. “It—It’s okay. It’s okay, now. I remembered your—your two-step encryption, and _I found you_ ,” she stammered.

“You’re absolutely incredible, Pidge. Our generation’s Einstein,” he joked with a watery chuckle. He meant it. He meant it more than he had ever meant anything before.

“I missed you so much,” Pidge whispered, arms tightening around him.

“So did I.” It seemed like they’d stayed there for a simultaneous eternity and instant when one of Pidge’s controls beeped. She pulled back to glance at the notification.

“We should probably keep moving."

Matt nodded and returned to his seat. They traveled through space in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. About ten minutes later, Pidge spoke up again.

“We’re almost there.” She paused. “I think you’re gonna really like everyone.”

Matt shook his head. “Look at us.” Pidge turned to him, melancholy morphing into confusion at the grin spreading across his face. “Two of the biggest nerds from Earth, defending the universe.” Pidge returned his smile, and let out a soft giggle. Matt’s heart felt full enough to burst. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed his little sister’s laugh.

 

\---

 

“Ta-da!”

“So, I guess your clutter habits haven’t changed at all,” Matt said in bemusement as Pidge gestured at her mess of a room.

“Oh, come on. Coran makes us keep the rest of the Castle-ship spotless. This is _my_ territory. I can do whatever I want here.”

“Clearly,” he said dryly. Pidge stuck out her tongue, because she was mature like that. Matt watched with a smile as she hopped around her many projects littered on the floor towards her bed. The whole space screamed _Pidge_. The floor was littered with tech and laundry she hadn’t had time to stow away, because obviously the only things worth organizing were encrypted files. There were a few water bottles scattered here and there, pictures of their family and the other paladins tacked up on the wall beside some diagrams and blueprints, a string of fairy lights—for the aesthetic, Matt supposed. And on her bed, two laptops. Sleep had never come before research for the Holt siblings.

“Come over! I want to show you this thing I’ve been working on.”

Matt grinned and made his way over. It was wonderful to see that despite everything she’d been through, Pidge had retained her infectious, overenthusiastic energy. He flopped down on the bed beside her, leaning against one of her pillows while she leaned forward, laptop perched on her crossed legs. After a few milliseconds of typing, she turned the screen to face him. Matt’s eyes widened.

“So I’m making this thing* for Shiro because—well, you saw his arm, right? I don’t know if he had it before you guys got separated. Anyway, it’s Galra tech, which has been pretty helpful in the fight against the empire so far. But I just thought… I figured he wouldn’t want it anymore when this is all over, you know? So I’m working on a new one I can give him whenever I can get all the materials I need, and right now I’m coding some features that I think he’ll find pretty useful, and—”

“Pidge, this is unbelievable,” Matt breathed. He looked at his sister, pride shining in his eyes. “Shiro’s going to love this. And this could completely revolutionize prosthetics back on Earth.”

“I know!” Pidge was beaming and bouncing where she sat. “Once I’ve worked everything out, I’m planning to put it on the market back home so that the design can be used to help veterans and other amputees.”

“My god. Man, I always knew you would surpass me, but you couldn’t even wait until I’d graduated?” He’d planned to go back to school after serving a few years with Garrison. Pidge rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

“Matt, you’re never going to graduate with that attitude. Not to mention the fact that we’re in space. And about a million light years away from any college anywhere. And you’ve already gotten more experience in space than any college could offer.”

“Touché.” Matt ruffled Pidge’s hair, which was now ruffle-able. He still couldn’t believe his little sister had chopped off all her hair into the same haircut Matt himself had worn the last time they’d seen each other. It was almost like looking into a mirror. “So, I know Shiro, of course. Tell me about the others.”

Pidge perked up, if possible, even further. “Oh yeah, sure! So, there’s Lance, whom you’ve already met. He’s a real jokester and always flirting with other people, but he’s probably one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet if you can catch him when he’s serious. He definitely has a crush on Keith, who’s definitely crushing on him back. Keith is part Galra and is training with the Blade of Marmora right now. He used to be the the pilot of the Red Lion, but then he piloted Black because Shiro disappeared, but then Shiro came back and now he’s piloting Black again, so Keith is just sticking with the Blade. Oh, and Lance is piloting Red now. He used to pilot Blue, so now Allura—the princess—is piloting Blue. And Hunk pilots the Yellow Lion. He’s super friendly and an amazing cook and makes Altean food actually edible, and he’s also an engineer so we tinker with tech stuff together a lot. Now Coran and Allura…”

The more Pidge talked, the more relaxed Matt became. It was like proximity to his little sister was softening all the rough edges the war had carved into him. He felt like a kid again, listening to Pidge ramble on about her day at school, about some cool article she’d found online, about her plans for getting into Garrison. He was never going to lose her again. He couldn’t live without her.

“Oh, wait!” Pidge cried, springing to her feet. Matt’s gaze sharpened as he sat up.

“What?”

“I completely forgot to show you the lounge!” And they were off.

 

\---

 

Matt followed his sister out of the Green Lion in the Castle-ship’s docking bay.

“That was so. Frickin. Cool,” he gushed. “Do you do that every day? What is your _life_?”

“I _know_! This is pretty much a normal Tuesday for us paladins,” Pidge said, nudging Matt with cocky nonchalance. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“Well, we have been doing a lot of _publicity stunts_ lately,” Pidge said once she had caught her breath. “To boost morale, or whatever.” She made a face.

“Those shows are of vital importance to our cause!” Coran piped up, apparently ending the serious discussion he was having with Shiro and Allura. Lance was nodding in agreement.

“He’s right! These shows—”

“Yeah, yeah, we know. Razzle-dazzle,” Hunk grumbled, but he was grinning. He and Lance continued their bickering as they made their way out of the docking bay, Pidge joining the conversation with an effervescence that made Matt’s chest hurt where he’d locked his heart away for his own survival when he’d been separated from everyone in his family. Lost in memories, he didn’t notice that Shiro had hung back until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Matt flinched reflexively, then relaxed when he saw who it was.

“Sorry, I—”

“I know. Don’t worry, it’s fine. Can I have a word with you?”

Matt glanced over at his sister, who was walking and bantering with her friends. “Uh, yeah, of course. What’s up?”

Shiro took a deep breath, and suddenly he looked his age. A young man in his early twenties, leading an intergalactic war against the empire that had held him captive, forced him to kill, and taken his arm. “I just wanted to apologize for not being able to rescue you and your dad sooner. I—”

“No, no. Shiro, you _saved_ me at a huge cost to yourself. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that,” Matt interrupted. “I should be apologizing to you, not the other way around.”

Shiro let out a low chuckle. “Alright, let’s agree that we both have a lot to be sorry for.”

Matt smiled. “Hey, I’m just glad we’re both safe. And I don’t think I ever thanked you for looking after Pidge. She’s… she’s everything to me and you kept her safe and sane in the middle of a war.”

“I didn’t have to,” Shiro said, his eyes brimming with a quiet pride that Matt knew very well. “Your sister is absolutely amazing, Matt. She’s saved the lives of everyone on this team countless times and never lost her spirit.”

Matt’s heart was overflowing again. “I know. As cliché as it sounds, she’s not so little anymore. They grow up way too fast.” He laughed. “God, I sound like my parents.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Shiro said softly.

“I guess you’re right.” Matt cleared his throat. “Well, shall we rejoin the others, sir?”

Shiro smiled. “After you. And hey, did we set up a room for you?”

“I think I’m going to stay in Pidge’s room tonight. Don’t really want to be separated so soon after our reunion, you know?”

Shiro nodded and seemed to see right through Matt. Seemed to know that every night Matt had the same nightmares—nightmares of losing his family, only to wake up and find that reality was just as bad.

“Of course.”

 

\---

 

After being stationed on his own for so long, the quiet hum of various alien machinery and periodic beeps coming from Pidge’s projects seemed deafening. Yet they still weren’t loud enough to distract Matt from his thoughts. His sister had drifted off a few minutes ago, her head resting on his shoulder and her laptop screen glowing dimly. Matt pressed a kiss to the top of her head and moved to lift the lensless glasses from her face. She kept them _all this time._ It made Matt want to cry and hold his little sister forever.

It was funny. He’d resigned himself to living his days out in deep space, working against the Galra empire until he died. He’d been prepared to die for this cause. But now all his old wishes of going home and adopting a peaceful, normal life came rushing back like a tidal wave that wouldn’t let him up for air. He’d shoved aside all his feelings for a reason. Now, with his sister in his arms and victory within sight, there was no way to hold them back.

And honestly, he didn’t want to.

And honestly, despite all the pain, all the loss this path had brought him and his family, he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

His sister, his _Pidge_ was a warrior for the universe, and he was so proud of her that it felt like the pressure of it was going to make him explode. And soon they would find Dad. _They would_. And then they would return home to Mom, having made a difference in this reality and seen more than they ever would’ve thought possible when Matt was still a kid teaching his little sister derivatives.

Matt was determined to have everyone he loved back again. And it wasn’t so impossible. He had Pidge now. And with her, he’d found hope.

**Author's Note:**

> *disclaimer—I think I took the idea of Pidge making a new arm for Shiro from another fic, but I totally forget where or when I read it. if this was from your fic, don’t hesitate to let me know and I’ll give you due credit!
> 
> Sooo I actually had inspiration for once and wrote this in one sitting ahhh. Hopefully I got the characterization right; I think I found their voices? Thank you to everyone who reads this! I might try to write some more for this fandom if my brain starts working again because this was really fun, but who knows. Creativity is about the most fickle thing ever.
> 
> my tumblr is @ravenclaw-helena if anyone wants to talk about the beautiful platonic friendships that this show has given us


End file.
